


Let the caged bird sing

by swallowthewhale



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-22 11:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4832936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swallowthewhale/pseuds/swallowthewhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aubrey has a much harder time focusing with Sara climbing the salmon ladder, basically shirtless. She wonders if this is how Felicity feels when Oliver is the one running around half naked. Actually, Felicity doesn’t seem to care much about gender, as long as they’re pretty and have nice abs. Not that Aubrey can blame her. Sara is nice to look at.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bandages.

Syringes.

Thread.

“Aubrey.”

Antihistamines.

Pain medications, she needs to get more.

Tranquilizers, a little low, but they can wait.

“Aubrey.”

She needs to draw more blood for Oliver’s backup blood supply, and it might be worthwhile to start one for Diggle and Roy too. God knows they injure themselves just as much as Oliver nowadays. And she has to run through the medical records Felicity dug up to see if she can find anything linking the recent medical supply robberies with known felons. Though she has a sinking suspicion that whoever it is isn’t in the criminal database. They never are.

“Aubrey!”

“What?” Aubrey snaps, spinning around. “I’m in the middle of - oh.”

There’s a woman standing next to Oliver, blond hair framing a wry smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“This is - ”

“Sara?” Aubrey interrupts.

“You know who I am?” Sara asks.

Aubrey shrugs. “I grew up in Starling. I watched the news.”

Both Oliver and Sara seem to understand at the same time.

“Sara, this is Aubrey. She’s a physician’s assistant and our resident doctor.”

Aubrey smiles and tries to keep her eyes fixed on Sara’s face instead of letting them wander a little lower.

“Well,” Oliver says, taking Sara’s elbow and turning her towards Felicity’s desk. “Let’s get to work.”

Aubrey has a much harder time focusing with Sara climbing the salmon ladder, basically shirtless. She wonders if this is how Felicity feels when Oliver is the one running around half naked. Actually, Felicity doesn’t seem to care much about gender, as long as they’re pretty and have nice abs. Not that Aubrey can blame her. Sara _is_ nice to look at.

But Sara is also quiet and brooding and doesn’t cross paths with Aubrey often. When Aubrey is in the Foundry, Sara is on the street, although Aubrey does suspect that Sara has been sleeping in the Foundry. She’s contemplated asking Felicity to see the security cameras that she knows are set up, but that would definitely be weird. Really weird. And not at all appropriate, considering she doesn’t even know Sara.

A week in, and the only words they’ve exchanged are thank you’s after Aubrey has stitched Sara up and goodnights when they’re the last ones left in the Foundry. Not exactly the smoothest start to a friendship, but if Aubrey gives up hope then she’s going to have to start finding things to occupy her mind other than how to start a conversation with Sara, and that doesn’t seem like the best idea.

 

“Hey.”

Aubrey startles and turns to find Sara leaning against the edge of the table. “Hi.” She sets her book down and realizes she’s staring. “I’m sorry, do you want to sit?”

Sara slides into the seat opposite Aubrey. “What are you reading?”

Aubrey glances down at the book. “Oh, I’m rereading _Harry Potter_ again.”

Sara smiles. “Unfortunately I missed out on a lot of pop culture while I was gone. _Harry Potter_ included.”

Aubrey leans back in her chair. “Just because you’re an adult now doesn’t mean you can’t read them.”

“Well maybe you’ll loan them to me.”

“Of course.” Aubrey shifts a little uncomfortably. “So what are you doing here? I thought you were going with the whole keep a low profile thing.”

Sara sighs. “Yes, but we ran out of coffee, and that has become essential to my survival.”

Aubrey giggles. “I never pegged you for a coffee addict. I thought the League would keep you on a strictly no caffeine, only carrots and broccoli, kind of diet.”

“Well it’s a good thing the League is no longer in control of my eating habits then, because if I want to last through the day, I need that caffeine.”

“Tell me about it.” Aubrey grins.

 

“You really need to stop throwing yourself headfirst into bad guys with knives,” Aubrey grumbles, steady hands stitching up yet another cut on Sara’s back. “I don’t even know where you find all these people.”

“You know me,” Sara smirks, eyes closed. “I’m good at finding trouble.”

“You can say that again,” Aubrey mutters. “Okay, you’re done. You know the drill, keep it dry - ”

“Until they come out, I know.” Sara pulls her shirt back on as Aubrey moves around to face her. “Thanks for not telling Oliver that I went out without him.”

Aubrey drags a hand through her hair and studies the bags under Sara’s eyes. “Of course. Look, how much sleep have you been getting?”

Sara shifts uncomfortably and lets her hair fall over he face as she does up the buttons on her shirt. “Enough.”

“I’m sure,” Aubrey says drily. “Well if you need a place to crash that has an actual bed, my spare room is all yours.”

Aubrey pats her knee and moves away as Sara stares at her back. “Thanks, Bree.”

Aubrey pauses at the nickname, chest tightening, but doesn’t turn back. “Goodnight, Sara.”

 

The knock on the door rouses Aubrey from her fourth consecutive episode in a midnight Netflix binge session of Orange is the New Black. She groans, and drags herself off the couch, wrapping her robe around herself more tightly before yanking the door open.

“Hi.” Sara has her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket, shoulders hunched up, looking the most vulnerable Aubrey has ever seen her.

Aubrey steps aside to let her in. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Well, you know how you said I could crash here if I needed?”

“Tired of the Foundry’s floor?”

“Pretty much.”

“Come in.” Aubrey bolts the door behind her. “Can I get you anything? A drink? Some pajamas?”

Sara shrugs her shoulders up higher and glances around the room. “Just water. And pajamas would be great.”

“The kitchen's over there, help yourself. I’ll go get you something to wear.”

Sara watches as Aubrey disappears down the hall, then looks over the apartment. It’s cozy and clean, with bookshelves along one wall and a fireplace across from the couch. There a distinct lack of photos, and the ones Sara sees are all of Aubrey with people her age. No parents, no childhood photos, nothing too personal.

The kitchen has the same quality to it, everything neat and organized. She find the cups easily and fills one up from the tap before examining the papers stuck to the fridge with magnets. They’re mostly photos of kids from Christmas cards or school pictures, a few newspaper clippings about the vigilante which make Sara giggle, and a whiteboard with a list of groceries. The table is empty except for a stack of unopened mail

“Hey.”

Sara turns to see Aubrey with a pile of clothes.

“I put a towel in the bathroom if you want to shower, and you can try these on and see if they fit. You’re taller than I am.”

“Thank you,” Sara says quietly. “You didn’t have to do this for me.”

Aubrey shrugs. “I could use the company.”

Sara doesn’t push it, and instead slips down the hall to find the bathroom. She showers quickly, borrowing Aubrey’s shampoo, and changes into the sweatpants and t-shirt Aubrey brought her. When she leaves the bathroom, Aubrey is across the hall making up the bed in what Sara assumes is the guest room.

Aubrey beckons her in. “I’m going to stay up a little longer, you don’t need to stay up with me, though. I’m sure you’re tired.”

Sara catches her hand, and Aubrey jerks her head to meet Sara’s eyes. “Thank you, Bree.”

Aubrey shivers at the contact and wonders if Sara gives everyone nicknames. She pulls away. “Goodnight, Sara.”

 

Sometimes Sara shows up and finds Aubrey asleep on the couch, and even though Aubrey has insisted that Sara wake her up, she still just drapes a blanket over her legs, shuts off the computer, and turns off the lights. Usually, though, Aubrey is awake watching TV, or reading, or, one night, making chocolate chip pancakes at one in the morning and singing along to Queen at the top of her lungs. Her bright red cheeks when she turned around and saw Sara standing in the doorway, spare key in hand, had made Sara smile more sincerely than she has in a long, long time.

Aubrey knows she should start going to bed earlier, because she’s been exhausted in the morning, but the loss of late nights with Sara, catching up on movies she’s missed, or talking about books and politics and funny stories from college, would hurt. Aubrey hasn’t had such a close friend in a while, she’d forgotten how nice it is.

Sara stays at Aubrey’s every night for two week and then stops showing up. Aubrey pretends not to care when she sees Sara and Oliver kiss. She does notice the same stricken look pass momentarily over Felicity’s face that she’s sure was on her own when she found out. They both have gotten good at pretending.

Diggle leans over Aubrey’s shoulder where she’s attempting to read medical reports for their latest case while Oliver and Sara spar.

“You okay?” he asks quietly.

Aubrey doesn’t look at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Diggle rolls his eyes. “You can tell yourself that you don’t care all you want, but don’t try that with me. You think I haven’t noticed?”

Aubrey sighs and rests her head in her hands. “She’s not interested. There’s nothing to talk about, Digg.”

Diggle pats her shoulder. “You and Felicity are in the same boat. Hell, I’ve been in that boat. If you need to talk…”

Aubrey manages a weak smile. “I know. Thanks, Digg.”

Aubrey goes back to staring at the reports, the knot in her stomach getting tighter and tighter until she’s holding back tears. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and closes the file. It’s time to go home. Her stupid heart is done for the day.

She gathers her things and is out the door before Felicity even manages to say goodbye.

 

Aubrey is alone in the Foundry. It’s a little creepy without everyone there, without even Felicity there. But they’re all out on a case together, and Aubrey is left alone to, well, not do much of anything. She really just wants to go home and scrub out the memory of walking in on Oliver and Sara making out that morning. A hot shower might do the trick, and some ice cream. She groans and glances at Felicity’s computer screen, where the GPS location of the team is. Technically, Aubrey hadn’t been given anything to do, though maybe it was implied that she would stick around for the cleaning up after. They can handle it themselves, she thinks, I’m going home.

 

“Don’t you knock?” Aubrey asks, curled up on her couch, eyes fixed on the computer screen in front of her.

“I’ve lost the habit,” Oliver says quietly, pulling off the hood and setting down his bow on the coffee table. “What happened today?”

Aubrey sighs and sits up. “I just felt a little left behind. And useless.”

Oliver frowns. “You know that’s not true. And you’ve stayed behind before.”

“Yeah, I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind today. I’m sorry.”

“Is this about Sara?” Oliver asks carefully, studying Aubrey’s reaction.

She stiffens. “What do you mean?”

“Do you have a problem with Sara? I thought you two were friends?”

“We are,” Aubrey says slowly. “I don’t know, I thought we were. But she’s barely spoken a word to me lately. I don’t know what I did.”

“Maybe you should just talk to her?” Oliver suggests.

Aubrey laughs sarcastically. “Says Oliver, the king of ‘just talking to people’.”

Oliver actually smiles. “Point taken. I just think that if Sara had a problem with you, she wouldn’t solve it by ignoring you. Maybe it’s something else.”

“Maybe,” Aubrey agrees. “Or maybe she just doesn’t want to be friends anymore.”

 

“Seriously, Sara?” Aubrey hisses, staring at the bullet hole in her shoulder.

Sara smiles weakly. “At least it’s not a knife this time?”

Aubrey sighs. “You’re not helping. Oliver is going to kill you.”

Sara shrugs her uninjured shoulder. “What Ollie doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“He’s going to find out eventually that you’ve been going after rapists on your own. And then he’s going to kill me for helping.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen, Bree.”

Aubrey’s hands still, fingers cold on Sara’s back. “You shouldn’t call me that.”

She frowns. “Why not?”

Because you can’t call me cute nicknames when you’re barely my friend anymore, Aubrey wants to say, but just resumes her stitching. “You’re not going to be able to defend me against Oliver if he’s already killed you.”

“Diggle, Roy, and Felicity would never let Oliver kill you.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Aubrey mutters, taping gauze over Sara’s shoulder. “Go forth and make excuses for your shoulder, birdie. Just don’t tell Oliver I was the one who patched you up, because then he’s going to come ask _me_ what happened.”

Sara turns to face her. “I owe you one.”

“Well maybe I’ll let you buy me a drink to make it up. But not tonight.”

“What’s tonight?”

Aubrey lets her hair fall between them as she cleans up. “I just can’t tonight.”

Sara studies her, debating whether or not to let it go. “Bree…”

“Sara!” Oliver bursts into the Foundry. “It’s Laurel.”

Sara glances at Aubrey, who shakes her head. “Go.”

Sara scowls. “I’m not dropping it, Bree.”

Aubrey stands up straight and looks her in the eye. “Go, Sara.”

 

“So, how about that drink?”

Aubrey blinks in confusion. “Drink?”

Sara smirks. “You patched up my shoulder in exchange for a drink? Come on, I’m buying.”

Audrey looks back at her computer screen. “What about Oliver?”

“He’s having dinner with Thea tonight. Please, it’ll be fun.”

Aubrey concedes. As awkward as she’s felt around Sara lately, she has missed hanging out with her. And she figures as long as the conversation stays away from Oliver, she’ll be okay.

They go upstairs to a packed Verdant, common for a Friday night, and at the bar the bartender salutes a hello to Aubrey before turning back to the customer in front of her.

“So. Bree. How drunk do I have to get you to learn all of your darkest secrets?”

Aubrey rolls her eyes even as her stomach knots. “Good luck with that.”

Sara laughs and pats her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t pry. Just tell me about yourself. I feel like we’ve talked about all sorts of stuff and I don’t even know anything about your life.”

Aubrey sighs and accepts the beer the bartender brings over. “Well, you know I grew up in Starling, in the Glades. I went to college for biology, went to a physicians assistant school, and got a job in a hospital here.”

“Well that was definitely the boring version. You’re telling me that you’ve never done anything fun or exciting?”

“You mean other than assist the vigilante,” Aubrey snarks.

Sara punches her lightly. “Oh, come on, I’ve told you about all my funny college exploits. You have to have some good stories.”

Aubrey swirls her beer thoughtfully. “There was that time I thought I was straight, dated a boy and ended up falling for his best friend, a girl. That was pretty awkward at the time, but I found out after that the same thing happened to him. Thought he was straight and fell for my best friend, who was a guy.” Aubrey shrugs. “I had a pretty chill college experience. It was fun, but there weren’t really any shenanigans like you had.”

Sara sighs and props up her chin in her hand. “You are really so shy it’s cute.”

Aubrey flushes. “I don’t think being incapable of functioning normally in society is cute.”

“Maybe, but I think it is. Opposites attract, right?”

“And you and Oliver?” Aubrey asks without thinking, and immediately slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “I’m sorry,” she says, muffled. “That was rude.”

Sara laughs. “It’s okay. Ollie and I, we just have a long history. I don’t think it’ll last though. I really think there’s someone else out there who will be better for him than me. And, to be honest, I think there might be someone better for me than Ollie.”

Aubrey feels a little ill and pushes her nearly empty beer away. “Felicity?”

“For Ollie? Yeah. Or at least I think so. I’m pretty sure he loves her but won’t admit it.”

“And you?” Aubrey groans silently and closes her eyes. Apparently alcohol plus Sara equals no filter.

Sara shrugs. “I don’t know. Either way, I guess I have to figure things out with Ollie first, right?”

Aubrey doesn’t reply and instead of banging her head against the counter for being such a loose-tongued idiot, changes the topic to a new movie that she knows Sara will be interested in. And she promises herself that she will chalk everything Sara has said up to alcohol and a long day.

 

Sara is worried. Aubrey hasn’t been in to the Foundry for two days, won’t answer her phone, and the hospital said she’s been calling in sick. Oliver just shrugs and says that even people with the strongest immune systems get sick, but Sara suspects that it’s something else. Why would she not answer her phone if she’s just sick? Why wouldn’t she call and let them know why she’s not coming in?

It’s pouring out when Sara finally gets to Aubrey’s, thunder loud and close. It reminds her of the night on the Gambit, but she ignores the tiny spark of fear in her chest. That’s all over now. She’s back in Starling, she’s safe.

Aubrey takes a while to open the door, and when she does, she cracks it slowly, peering out at Sara before letting her in. Her wild curls are pulled up off her face and her robe is loose around her body. In one trembling hand she holds a baseball bat.

“Bree?”

Aubrey bolts the door behind Sara, dropping the bat in the corner by the door, then walks down the hall without a word. Sara follows, concern weighing heavy on her chest.

“Aubrey, what’s wrong?” Sara follows Aubrey into the bathroom, where she’s pulling a towel out and starting the water.

“Shower, birdie. You’re soaked.”

Sara stares in confusion as Aubrey closes the door behind her, but does as she’s told.

When she gets out of the shower, she can hear Aubrey in the kitchen. She dresses quickly and creeps up on Aubrey, who’s trying to pour coffee grinds into the coffee maker with shaking hands. Sara steadies her hands from behind, keeping as much distance between them as possible. She doesn’t want to freak Aubrey out.

“Bree, what’s going on?” Sara takes a step back.

Aubrey sighs and turns around, pushing a rogue curl away from her face. “My dad was released from prison two days ago.”

Sara’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “You think he’s going to come looking for you?”

“It’s very likely,” Aubrey says, slumping against the counter. “Considering it was my testimony that put him in jail.”

Sara doesn’t say anything, just holds out her arms and lets Aubrey tuck her trembling body against her side.

Later, after a cup of coffee and Sara insisting on checking the windows and doors, Aubrey explains how her father used to beat up her mom.

“He would come home from work and find something to get pissed off about. Dinner wasn’t ready on time, dinner was cold, she hadn’t helped me finish my homework yet, the house was dirty, his laundry wasn’t done. There was always something. And one day, my mom had enough and stabbed him with the kitchen knife. I was eleven.

“The prosecution claimed that there was no immediate concern about self defense. He hadn’t been hitting her, just verbally abusing her, that night.”

“You said your testimony put him in jail.”

Aubrey leans her head on the back of the couch. “My dad beat me up, too. He particularly liked cigarettes and his belt. It was bad that night, I almost passed out from blood loss. She wasn’t only defending herself, she was defending me. My mom was acquitted and my dad was charged. He was released on bail, though, and killed my mom the night before his trial.”

Aubrey twists and pulls up her shirt to reveal long thin scars across the length of her back and a spattering of tiny round burn marks.

Sara feels like she’s going to cry. “Bree…”

Aubrey smiles sadly and touches Sara’s knee with her fingertips. “It’s fine, Sara. It happened a long time ago. I’ve made my peace with it.”

“But your dad is out of jail now.”

“Yeah,” Aubrey says. “And I’ve got a crew of vigilantes watching my back. I think I’m a little less afraid than I was fifteen years ago.”

“Which is why you haven’t been going to work and answered the door with a baseball bat,” Sara says dryly.

Aubrey doesn’t say anything.

Sara exhales slowly. “I guess we should warn Oliver then.”

“Can we wait until tomorrow?” Aubrey whispers. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight.”

“Of course. How about you tell me how you met Oliver, I don’t think anyone’s told me yet.”

Aubrey laughs. “Oh, Oliver might kill me for telling you this. No one else knows.”

Sara sits up straight. “Now you have to tell me.”

“So the hospital was being robbed for medical supplies pretty much every week. I was working a late shift when the Arrow showed up to stop them. He tied them up for the police to take care of, but when he dropped into the alley to get away, a couple of the stray cats took offense and mauled him up pretty badly. I found him and patched him up and swore I wouldn’t tell anyone that the Arrow had been unable to defend himself against a couple of cats.”

Sara giggles. “He’s never going to live this down.”

Aubrey grins. “He trusted me after that, I guess, because he started showing up whenever I had a late shift for knife wounds, gunshots, poisonings. And eventually he introduced me to Diggle and Felicity and I sort of became part of the team.”

Sara is still laughing. “I can’t believe Ollie got sliced up by street cats and needed medical attention.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes and pats Sara’s knee. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

 

Aubrey wakes up to an uncomfortable stiffness in her neck and shoulders and a heavy weight across her stomach. Blinking slowly at the coffee table she quickly realizes that there is someone behind her, body pressed against her back and chin on her head.

Sara.

The knot in her chest that had relaxed last night tightens up again, squeezing her heart in punishment for being so, so stupid. How could she have fallen asleep with Sara when she’d been so careful to maintain distance the night before?

“Morning, Bree,” a husky voice says, making her shiver.

“Sara,” was all Aubrey could say, voice tight.

Sara frowns. “What?”

“Sara.” Aubrey is shivering, even though she feels like she could combust on the spot.

Sara seems to understand. “Bree, we didn’t do anything wrong.”

Aubrey ungracefully detangles herself and stumbles away from the couch, where Sara is sitting up, hair a mess and shirt slipping off her shoulder. Aubrey drags her eyes away from the smooth skin to Sara’s frown.

“You’re dating Oliver, Sara.”

Sara opens her mouth, unsure of what to say, but Aubrey backs her way down the hallway and into the bathroom. And anything Sara could say is drowned out by the shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Aubrey leans her head against the cool mirror, hands gripping the sink so hard that her knuckles are white. She takes three deep shuddering breaths, then pulls back to examine herself in the mirror. Brown skin, wild brown hair, dark eyes, normal. But something should be different; she feels different.

Sara is gone. Starling is destroyed. Aubrey’s life lays in pieces on her bathroom floor and she can’t move or she’ll cut herself on the shards. How can she move on without getting hurt?

“Maybe that’s the point,” she says to the mirror. “Moving on hurts.”

 

Aubrey slams the door behind herself, tears pricking at her eyes. Stupid Oliver, bringing up Sara so casually. This is why Aubrey doesn’t go to the Foundry unless they need her. There’s too much of Sara there now, and it still hurts.

She slumps against the closed door, closing her eyes. It’s not until she’s done fuming at Oliver that she hears the trilling. She slowly lifts her head and pushes off the door. There, on her kitchen table, is a brass birdcage with a tiny, bright yellow bird hopping around happily. A canary.

Heart thumping in her chest, Aubrey runs a finger along one of the bars, down to where a piece of paper is tied to the cage.

_Bree, I’ll be back before you know it. This is Flicker, he’s promised to look out for you while I’m gone. Stop worrying. -S_

Aubrey clutches the note to her chest and falls into one of the chairs at the table. She wonders if Sara brought the bird herself, and without meaning to, the memories stuffed away in the back of her mind of their last conversation flood her mind.

_“I’m sorry.”_

_Aubrey hugs herself. “Stop, Sara. Starling isn’t your cage, and neither am I. You’re free to do what you want.”_

_Sara is already shaking her head. “This isn’t what I want. But we needed the help and this was the only way. Bree…”_

_“I know. I might not like it, but I know. You made a promise, you have to keep it.”_

_“Bree.” Sara sounds desperate and Aubrey tries not to notice the tears in Sara’s eyes._

_“Goodbye, birdie.”_

Even now, Aubrey’s not sure if she should have said it. It wouldn’t have made a difference, but the idea that Aubrey might not ever get another chance kills her. She doesn’t know if she would have liked Sara’s response, though. It could have hurt even more than having to say goodbye.

 

“Sara’s back.”

Aubrey groans and glances at the clock next to her bed, 1:03 am. “Laurel?”

“Aubrey, Sara’s back. I just saw her.”

“Why is she back? It was supposed to be a year.”

“She didn’t say,” Laurel pauses. “I thought you deserved to know.”

Aubrey frowns and turns on the light next to her bed. “What do you mean?”

Laurel sighs. “You know what I mean. Everyone knows. Just call her okay?”

Aubrey jumps as her door creaks open and a figure in black slips into the room. “Laurel? I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Hi,” the Canary says, footsteps silent as she walks towards the bed.

Aubrey just stares.

“I see you and Flick have gotten along well.”

“Sara?”

She smiles and pulls off the wig and mask. “Hi Bree.”

Aubrey feels like she might faint. Or cry. Or both. “Sara, what are you doing here?”

Sara perches on the edge of the bed. “Technically I’m here on business, but I had to stop by.”

Aubrey reaches out to touch Sara’s cheek but stops short. Her question about what kind of business turns into a completely different one. “Can you stay?”

 

Aubrey wakes up sore and uncomfortable for the second time in the past year, but this time she knows exactly who’s behind her. She vividly recalls Sara stripping down to her underwear and sliding under the covers with Aubrey, something that she hadn’t questioned then, but over which her mind is now racing. Aubrey had kind of assumed that going back to the League meant going back to Nyssa, and Sara may have flirted before but this is a whole different ballpark.

Sara stirs behind Aubrey, pressing her nose into Aubrey’s hair and tightening the arm around her waist.

“You know,” she whispers. “I’ve never found it easy to sleep in the same bed with someone, but you are very comfortable.”

“Sara.” Aubrey can already feel the tears coming on. “What are we doing?”

Aubrey tries to roll over, but Sara keeps her still. “Please, Bree. Stay”

“You have to leave again,” Aubrey whispers. “Why make it even harder?”

Sara sighs and lets Aubrey turn to face her. She props herself up on one arm and brushes her fingers through Aubrey’s hair. “I’m not leaving again.”

Aubrey frowns. “But Laurel said you’re here on business.”

“I’ve got one contract here, and then I’ll be released from my obligation to the League.”

Aubrey gapes. “You said a year.”

“I got lucky.”

“Sara.”

Sara slides her hand around the back of Aubrey’s neck. “I’m staying.”

Aubrey’s hands unconsciously curl around Sara’s waist. “But what are you doing here?”

Sara smiles and brushes her nose against Aubrey’s before kissing her.

“I came back to tell you that I love you.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey cutie, what’s up?”

“You know,” Felicity sighs, leaning back in her chair. “Bad guys attacking, Oliver being indecisive…”

“What did Ollie do this time?” Sara asks immediately.

“The usual. He tells me he loves me, then says it was a lie to catch Slade, then he asks me out and the restaurant blows up, then he says that was a mistake, then he says he can’t be both Oliver and the Arrow and that it might never work out between us, then he kisses me and basically tells me he loves me… and now he’s being all distant and broodish.”

“Classic Oliver. I’m sorry, Felicity.”

Felicity shrugs, although she knows Sara can’t see her. “I’m dealing. Anyway, that’s not why I called.”

“Hit me.”

“It’s about Aubrey.”

Felicity can practically hear Sara’s heart stop. “What?”

“No, no, she’s okay,” Felicity rushes to clarify. “As okay as she can be with a broken heart, anyway.”

“What happened?”

“Really, Sara? You know what I mean.”

Sara takes a deep breath and presses her forehead against the heel of her hand. “It’s been a month, why are you mentioning this now?”

“Because it hasn’t gotten better,” Felicity says bluntly. “She barely comes to the Foundry anymore, she hardly speaks, and I know she’s a quiet person, but she looks like she’s not sleeping.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Sara asks, voice strained.

“I know you can’t just drop everything and come back,” Felicity says kindly. “But maybe if you got in touch with her somehow she would do a little better. Remind her that you haven’t forgotten and that this isn’t forever.”

“Okay,” Sara says numbly, and the idea comes to her so suddenly that she almost drops the phone. “Felicity, I need your help.”

“Anything.”

“Do you know of any pet stores nearby?”


End file.
